Relating to neglect of a child and the grounds for termination of the parent-child relationship and possession of a child by the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Contracts

• Consent to Treat & Admission Agreements: Review "Against Medical Advice" (AMA) clauses. A parent transferring a child to a holistic provider or refusing psychiatric medication can no longer be contractually defined as "neglect" or automatically trigger a DFPS referral.
• Vendor/Staffing Agreements: Third-party social workers and case managers must have their scopes of work amended to reflect these statutory exclusions to ensure they do not file non-compliant reports on your behalf.

Hiring/Training

• Mandatory Reporter Training: Immediate "Stand Down" training is required for all clinical staff, school counselors, and teachers. They must be explicitly instructed that refusing ADHD medication, anti-depressants, or other psychotropics is not a reportable offense.
• Triage Protocols: Front-line staff must be trained to distinguish between "refusal of psychotropics" (protected) and "refusal of life-sustaining treatment" (e.g., insulin or antibiotics), which remains reportable under the "substantial risk of death" exception.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Incident Reports: If a report is made despite a parent's refusal of care, the documentation must now explicitly cite the statutory exception: "substantial risk of death, disfigurement, or bodily injury" or "observable and material impairment."
• Clinical Documentation: Vague chart notes such as "non-compliant parent" are now liability risks. Documentation must be specific regarding the *physical* consequence of the non-compliance to justify any DFPS involvement.

Fees & Costs

• Budget Impact: Low.
• Potential Costs: Potential increase in legal defense costs if your organization is accused of harassing parents for exercising these new statutory rights.